


Since We Last Met

by OrangeBlossoms



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:57:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11796057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeBlossoms/pseuds/OrangeBlossoms
Summary: Olivia has an unexpected encounter with an old friend.





	Since We Last Met

**Author's Note:**

> Lon’qu and Olivia are adopted siblings in this. I like to sometimes think of the Ferox crew as a nice non-traditional family. Gaius/Lon’qu because gay characters in my Fire Emblem fanfiction? It's more likely than you think (ok, mostly lesbian, bi and pan gals, but still). Some clothes come off, so I put it at M (but it's not much more explicit than that). Enjoy this bit of silliness.

Olivia would recognize that pinched expression anywhere. She is waiting tables at her day job nearing the end of a long shift when there is a crash on the opposite side of the seating area and a warbling cry of dismay. She shivers at the possible scenarios. Felicia is working overlapping hours and it's always a coin toss how that will go. She had been so close to clocking out without incident, but she sighs and goes over to see if she can help with the mess. As she approaches, a series of babbled apologies cascade from her coworker’s mouth. A woman alone at a table is in the process of slowly removing a pair of reading glasses, a slice of lemon meringue balancing askew on her head like a white and yellow fez.

“Maribelle?!” she shouts before covering her mouth at the outburst.

The seated woman jerks back in surprise which results in the pie tumbling down her face to land on the table in front of her with a sad, wet sound. Felicia has stopped blubbering and is now squirming as she stands in place, appalled by the resulting tableau. The background chatter has ceased. The only sound is the music playing, an endless cycle of jazz-infused crooning that she's long since drowned out having arrived before the sun rose.

Olivia taps Felicia on her shoulder causing her to jump and whispers, “I’ll take care of this.”

She approaches the table with a smile, Maribelle’s lips twisting into an uncharacteristic lopsided pucker before sighing. Appearances were always important to her.

“Um long time, no see?” Olivia offers, “I’m sorry about this.”

“I-it’s not a problem,” Maribelle lies. She was never good at it. The familiar lilt of her voice serves to further pull Olivia in as she can't quite believe it's Maribelle sitting in front of her. Maribelle follows up her statement with a small smile as she dabs a napkin in her water glass to begin wiping her face clean. “The hotel has a bathroom in the lobby even if I can’t check in until 3pm.” 

“Here on business?” she asks, hearing the murmur of voices pick up again as the scene has lost much of its intrigue.

“A conference. It doesn't begin until tomorrow.” 

The ice clinks in her glass as she wets another cloth napkin.

“If you would like to clean up,” Olivia begins, suddenly nervous, “my apartment is around the corner and my shift is about to end.”

Her manager runs in to interrupt the discussion, apologizing again on Felicia's behalf. Jakob can sniff out a high class customer a mile away and is adept at simpering genuflection.

After allowing him to go on for a moment, Maribelle holds up a hand and looks to Olivia, “I think I will take you up on your offer, Olivia darling.”

The old sobriquet is enough to bring an unwanted blush to her face and to cause Jakob to pause his submissive blustering as he eyes her. At this point her shift is over and she makes a mental note to check in with Felicia later. She had been doing so well that day. It's selfish, but she can't help but be grateful for the incident as Maribelle follows her home, her boots clacking on the concrete as she walks next to her.

It's under half an hour later when she's placed a pot of hot water for tea on the table and a tray of cookies that they mostly keep around for Lon’qu’s boyfriend who has an insatiable sweet tooth. She's changed out of her work clothes into something more casual that she hopes still looks nice and sends a quick text of support to Felicia before plugging her phone into an outlet in her bedroom. Maribelle is towel drying her hair after brushing it with the bathroom door open, the vent humming as it deals with the steam. She had warned her brother about having a female friend over and he’s since cleared out of the apartment, most likely making a beeline for the gym as soon as he got her text. Lon’qu was never one for polite conversation or strangers, especially women.

“I must say, while I associate you and Ferox in my mind, I never would have anticipated seeing you on my first trip here let alone my first day,” Maribelle says she she flicks off the bathroom light and joins her in the living room. 

Olivia pours a fresh cup for her guest and hopes it's palatable even if they only have generic black tea bags around. Olivia has grown accustomed to coffee since she started working at the restaurant, but she can't imagine Maribelle has dropped her tea habit.

Maribelle's cheeks are slightly pink from the warm water and she's already reapplied a new layer of eye makeup. A small towel around her shoulders prevents her blouse from getting too wet from wavy blonde strands. She always used to have immaculate hair, so it’s a new experience seeing her like this, as if she’s easy-going when she’s anything but. Olivia has to look into her tea cup to collect her thoughts before she speaks. 

“It was a surprise for me as well. Of all the restaurants in all the city, you come to mine.”

“I’m not one to believe in fate, but whatever happened, I’m grateful for it,” Maribelle says, smiling before her lips quirk downward, “Even with the pie.” As if to reassure her, she then laughs it off.

They spend some time on casual chitchat, Maribelle complimenting her on the decor. Dancing around any potentially uncomfortable topics, there is eventually a lull in the conversation and Maribelle grows somber. “How have you been? I had lost contact with you, darling. I was worried.”

Olivia feels guilty now. 

“It was a different time. Hardly anyone had cell phones and e-mail was barely a thing. We were young. I didn't think…” she trailed off, looking away.

“I think you underestimated my esteem for you o-or didn't have faith, but I suppose it's my own fault. I know now that I can be to the point except when it matters,” Maribelle explains with a frown, “But that's in the past. I’m still glad to have seen you today. Besides, everyone has to experience disappointment every now and again in their lives.”

She had always assumed their fling back in high school mattered far more to herself than it ever had to Maribelle. She had only been in Ylisse for a year on exchange. Lon’qu certainly hadn't kept in touch with any of his friends from sports teams. It was only natural to have drifted apart. But here she was, in her living room, still very much Maribelle. In truth it had been Olivia’s insecurities that had ended things. Too paralyzed to put her thoughts into letters, when they moved half a year after her return she forgot to send the new address. Except if she was being honest, it was more like she kept putting it off out of fear which was then compounded by the worry that she was too late to do anything about it.

They first met when Maribelle had taken it upon herself to defend the new exchange student’s virtue against several male students who had professed an interest in her with varying degrees of what Maribelle had referred to as “caddish behavior”. Her protective tendencies continued from there as she took it upon herself to help her learn how the school worked and encouraged her to try out for the dance team. The very idea of tryouts would have deterred her from making the attempt before.

She remembers when they became something other than just friends, a kiss during a study session after everyone else had gone home. She was never sure who initiated. They hadn't talked about it, were never anything official. Her physical affection in public never veered towards sensual. During the day, Maribelle was prim as always. She was the kind of person to kiss someone on the cheek in greeting or call a friend ‘darling’ and link arms whilst exchanging small talk.

“No one ever knew, did they?” she asked, remembering her old worries.

Maribelle spluttered in a way she would have most likely deemed “unladylike”.

“Of course they did! Why do you think Vaike stopped professing his… attraction to you? Or why no one but myself asked you to go to the dance when you were easily one of the loveliest and sweetest individuals in the entire school? I was worse at this than I feared,” she exclaims, grimacing.

“O-oh,” Olivia says, dumbstruck, “I-I… oh. B-but you only ever held my hand in front of anyone.”

“Those brutes would have taken far too much enjoyment from more than that!” she insists before her expression grows sheepish, “Though I suppose I was a bit… overly cautious.” 

It was only in retrospect that she realized Maribelle had been fumbling along with everything just as much as she had when they were younger. She was so confident in nearly all that she did that it never occurred to her until much later how she repeatedly had to test and attempt and inquire while Olivia passively went along. Their first kiss was Maribelle's first kiss. What she later thought of as her their first date was her first date. Maribelle who knew how to play an instrument and looked people in the eye when she talked and did well in all her classes could also be shy and unsure.

There is an awkward silence as Olivia stares into her lap and Maribelle hugs herself, hands wrapped around her arms as if she has a chill. A wall clock ticking in the background punctuates the hush. When the hour chimes, Olivia's shoulders tense.

“But you're doing well now? You are attending a conference here?” Olivia asks with an earnest look.

_I only ever wished you well._

“Oh… oh, yes,” Maribelle says, her expression that pained smile she would have when she tried to smooth things over, but couldn't contain her true feelings.

“I’m so sorry. I never thought… but I did miss you,” she admits as she inches closer on the couch.

“I don't suppose…” Maribelle pauses, moving a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “you would want to get dinner tonight? My treat. But, oh, you were just working at a restaurant. A movie, perhaps? Or is there something you would recommend? This is your home city after all.” She hurries to give her an out as if worried she has overstepped. “Only if you are available, of course. Don't change plans on my account.”

Olivia half considers tempering her answer, but instead reaches out for Maribelle’s hands with a ready response.

“Yes! Of course!” 

On impulse, she decides to pay her boldness in kind. In one swift movement, she leans over to press a chaste kiss to her cheek. Still holding onto Maribelle’s hands, she feels her tense before relaxing. Her face has colored in reaction to the gesture and it reminds Olivia of Maribelle's younger self, blushing and kissing her on the walk home from school as they cut through the fields that ran alongside the path that was behind Maribelle's home. The memories come back and she wants to do more than that even if she knows this is just a short visit and all things considered they were never supposed to get a second chance in the first place.

Maribelle pulls a hand back to cup Olivia's cheek. Their faces are close and Olivia has forgotten to breathe, so when Maribelle asks permission, Olivia can only suck in a gasp of air and nod.

She would like to think she's better at this than she was before. She's had partners since then, men and women, but there's something about a first crush that is making her giddy and self-conscious all at once. 

The kiss is soft to start, but she surprises herself when she pushes closer, Maribelle pressing back into her until she’s almost in her lap. Fingers curling through the damp hair at the nape of Maribelle’s neck, Olivia places her other hand on her waistline. She feels the hand that is on her cheek slide to the back of her head in an attempt to pull her even closer, the move eliciting a muffled whimper. The sound only seems to spur Maribelle on further as her free hand grazes her side and dips under her top to lightly brush the skin above her jeans as they continue the string of kisses. 

Olivia is the first to pull back and they are both panting after the shared urgency. 

“This is… alright?” Maribelle asks, still a bit breathless as she looks for confirmation to continue.

“Yes, definitely,” she says, before leaning back into another kiss this time nipping at a lower lip in an attempt to show her how much she wants to share this moment, that she won't let shyness get in the way of their limited time. 

She feels hands under her sweater and on her skin again. Maribelle's fingers are delicate in their touches as they move up her sides then back down again to splay across her stomach. Her own hands have moved to Maribelle's back as her tongue licks across her jawline and she places searing kisses down her neck. Maribelle only allows for small gasps and ragged breaths to escape. There's a chime in the distance, but she ignores it for now. Maribelle is soft and inviting in her warmth in a way that makes her forget everything else. 

At some point her hands have come around to untuck the blouse and she begins unbuttoning it from the top down to which Maribelle nods in encouragement before recapturing her mouth in a kiss. This time Olivia tests her tongue against lips and Maribelle is surprisingly eager to oblige, uttering a suppressed moan that causes her to tense before Olivia pulls her back into the experience as she reciprocates with a deep kiss.

Maribelle is now straddling her lap and pulling off her top when she hears a noise from the front of the apartment. She's confused when she feels the shirt being shoved back over her head to cover her torso. Her stomach drops when she hears Maribelle speak. 

“Ah, hello. Lon’qu, correct? It's been some time since we ah… last… met,” she finishes lamely, her face going from flushed with want to a much deeper red of embarrassment as she clambers off of her lap, enough dignity intact to button up her blouse without fumbling.

Olivia turns in time to see Lon’qu, one hand shielding his face, walk back out the front door.

“I’m going to spend the night at Gaius’,” he mumbles on his way out and she can see he’s almost as flustered as she feels.

“S-sorry!” she calls before covering her face.

“I’m fairly certain I got your top back on before you were erm too exposed... Oh, dear,” Maribelle says, raising a hand to her cheek as her brows knit. 

Olivia looks at her through a lattice of fingers and feels a comforting hand on her back. Maribelle seems aware that this was most likely a worse experience for Olivia than it had been for herself and attempts a smile.

“Well, all of that was something of a surprise, but it might have been sensible to talk more first before… getting carried away. I-if you are interested in trying again, well, distance wouldn't deter me.”

Olivia leans into the shoulder of the arm that has been rubbing her back.

“Would you still want to go on a date tonight? We can take things from there?” she asks, determined to not make Maribelle do all the work this time.

Her face brightens at the offer and the resulting smile is more heartfelt and open than Olivia would expect. “That would be splendid!”

When she checks her phone on their way out the door, she sees a message in thanks from Felicia and several texts from Lon’qu telling her he was heading back home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be for rarepair week, but I got distracted with (other) fairly random pairings. Also was a requested pairing/prompt combo (Visiting). There’s a Felicia/F!Corrin companion to this, buuuut I doubt I’ll finish it. haha I don't like writing Avatar characters as much.


End file.
